The Mischief of British Agents
by gingertintedglasses
Summary: One Shot. Prompt: "Agent Carter and Agent Simmons, in the 1940s, playing truth or dare." Poor Steve won't know what hit him.


A/N: I _promise_ the next chapter of Arsonist's Lullaby is coming soon - I've been having some computer trouble! Hopefully this makes up for the delay in posting!

The prompt for this was from a friend: Agent Carter and Agent Simmons, in the 1940s, playing truth or dare.

 **The Mischief of British Agents**

Agent Simmons had panicked when she realized she was in a different time period all together. Fitz _clearly_ had a few bugs to work out on his newest invention.

A gentle yet firm voice behind her – _British_ voice behind her- caught her attention. When she turned, she found herself face-to-face with none other than Agent Peggy Carter. _The_ Peggy Carter. And now Jemma was panicking for an entirely _different_ reason and _ohmygodthefortiesweretheactualbest_.

Clearing her throat, Jemma spoke. "I'm sorry, what was that?" Agent May would be proud of her for keeping her cool. Mostly. Except for the tiniest squeak.

"I asked what are you doing out here, we need to take shelter."

A horn blared in the distance. Ah. Air raid. "Right. Of course."

Peggy Carter narrowed her eyes slightly. "Are you quite all right?"

"Yes. Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Aside from the fact that you're wearing civilian clothes in the middle of a war?"

Jemma smiled that wide, nervous smile that Skye said always gave her away. "Oh. Right. _That_. I—"

"—Tell me once we're somewhere safe."

Peggy –Agent _Peggy Carter, is this real life?!_ – pulled her along and into a nearby makeshift bunker. Aside from the two of them, it was empty. Jemma wondered briefly if that was because of the questionable structural integrity of their shelter.

"Where is everyone else?"

"The few of us on base are likely in other bunkers. The rest are off fighting." Her tone made it clear she was disappointed she wasn't there with them on the front lines. Little did she know her time would come.

"I see."

The silence stretched on for several minutes, the muffled sound of the horns far above ground the only other sound. Until the shelling began. The overhead lights shook and swayed and flickered. Agent Peggy Carter was stoic and calm and Jemma admired her more in that moment, even as she tried to keep herself from shaking.

Agent Carter obviously noticed. "Shall we play a game?"

Jemma nodded. "What sort?"

"Let's keep it simple. Truth or dare."

"Okay. But be warned, this is the strangest sleepover I've ever had."

Agent Carter laughed and Jemma would have sworn her heart fluttered with delight that her idol, _Peggy Carter_ thought she was funny.

"May I?" Agent Carter waited for Jemma's nod to ask. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth." Jemma was rubbish when it came to following through on a dare.

"Tell me who you are."

"I—I'm –I'm Jemma. Jemma Simmons. _Agent_ Jemma Simmons. Of S.H.I.E.L.D. it's an –the agency –you're a part of the SSR, which becomes S.H.I.E.L.D."

An eyebrow sculpted far beyond the job Simmons could ever hope to accomplish rises. "And you know this because….?"

Jemma laughed at herself. "This is going to sound crazy. I'm –I'm from the future. You see –what happened was –Fitz, loveable, clumsy Fitz—was working on a new project and was in testing stages –early testing stages, mind. _Too_ early, if you ask me. _I_ told him it was too early to start testing. But you know boys – they don't listen to reason. And it –well, I'm not sure how, but it seems to have created the ability to travel through time which is amazing in and of itself but in all seriousness, I'm going to have to have a _long_ talk with him when I get back to my time about lab safety and the risks of molecular degeneration and DNA atrophy on these sorts of …trips. I'm sure he can perfect it eventually, granted, but _still_ it—"

"—I see. Time travel. Interesting. So then, how does this all end?"

"The war? –We win. You have a hand in that, I know you're dying to see some action and you will –trust me, Peggy –Oh! I'm sorry! Agent Carter—you will see action and be a national hero and treasure and a role model for girls all over the _world_."

A small smile. "Peggy is fine. And I think it's your turn."

She believed her. _Peggy Carter_ believed her, _Jemma Simmons_. "Ok. Um. –Oh! Truth or dare."

Peggy smiled wide enough to create a small dimple on either cheek. "Oh, I think the atmosphere of the day is calling for a little adventure. Dare, please."

"Ask him out. Kiss him. _Something_ for the love of God."

Peggy pulled her head back a bit as if slapped. "What did you say?"

"I mean Steve – Captain Rogers. I dare you to ask him out. Or kiss him or …something."

"If I ever see him again, yes." Peggy regarded her for several long moments. "You really are from another time."

"Yeah." Jemma smiled wide, trying not to fiddle with her shirt sleeve as she let Peggy scrutinize her.

"I'll do it on one condition."

"What?"

"There's no saying you can go back to your time. If you can't, that you let me mentor you. And that _you_ also ask Steve out. Or kiss him." Another dimple-filled smile. "I love to see him nervous."

Jemma laughed with abandon. _Fitz I swear to god if you fix that stupid machine of yours I will kill you_. She was already pretty sure that Agent Carter was Agent May's S.O., but to have Agent Carter as _her_ S.O., too? Excuse her while she checked for a pulse, perhaps their bunker had been bombed without her notice.

Reining in her laughter, Simmons held a hand out. "Deal."

Peggy shook. "Thank God. I won't be the only girl red-faced because of this game." She fell silent for several moments; another horn could be heard in the distance. "That's the all clear. Let's go. And stay close."

It was another week before Jemma found herself as unceremoniously in another time period as she had the first go-around. But this time, it was a familiar time period and Fitz heaved a sigh of relief and dropped everything to wrap her in the biggest bear hug he could manage.

"Jemma! Thank God!"

She had spent the whole week with Peggy, leeching every ounce of knowledge she could, and in return giving Peggy whatever she could of the knowledge she had of the events of the war. She didn't see Steve Rogers once while she was there.

"Are you ok? Jemma?" Fitz' voice broke through her reverie.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

Fitz motioned behind him and for the first time, she realized that they weren't in their lab on the bus, but in a different lab entirely. Surrounded by the Avengers. All of them. Steve Rogers included.

"When were you?" Fitz again broke through her train of thought.

"Excuse me, Fitz. Sorry." She stepped around him and straight for Captain America himself. Her heart was pounding almost as hard as it had been when she realized she was face-to-face with Peggy Carter.

"Are you alright, Miss?" Steve looked confused but polite as ever. Bless.

"Yes. Sorry. I just –I just…promised someone I met that if she did, then I would. So, I just…" Jemma stopped herself and before she lost her nerve, reached up and pulled Steve's face down to hers as gently as she could and with all the experience she could call upon, kissed him.

The moment she let him go, she spared only enough time to see him turn bright red as she spun on her heel and hurried out of the room, leaving behind a dumbstruck Steve, Fitz, and a giggling Tony Stark.

Jemma clutched to the dog tag Peggy had gifted her –in exchange for her own S.H.I.E.L.D. ID- as she rounded the corner toward anyplace that wasn't the lab she'd just left. "Seventy years late, but I still did it, Peg." she whispered.


End file.
